NDP

Rapid Fire: Will Mulcair survive? ‘It’s touch and go.’

Evan Solomon on the Mulcair Moment, the direction of the NDP, plus tough questions on the Trudeau budget

The Mulcair Moment has arrived. Eighteen hundred NDP delegates are in Edmonton to chart a new course, one that may not include Tom Mulcair. On Sunday, the NDP leader will have to give the political speech of his life, one he hopes will solidify the support he’s been courting in the backrooms. I think he needs to win 70 per cent or it’s over.

Here are three things to watch:

1. Mulcair’s survival: Will he emerge to take a second run at the big office?

2. The NDP’s next steps: Will it take the Leap Manifesto to the left of the left side of the political spectrum? After years of pushing to the centre, where many had argued the road to power was located, the party may decide it needs to move left. Watch the resolutions they adopt, especially on fossil fuels and pipelines. After all, NDP Premier Rachel Notley has just declared the Energy East pipeline a lifeline for Alberta.

3. Budget questions for Trudeau: Parliament resumes for the first time since the the parliamentary budget officer savaged the budget for lacking transparency and accuracy. Watch for Trudeau to face questions on that, about pipelines and  about his justice minister attending a fundraiser. Will Tom Mulcair even be there to ask the questions?


Photos from the NDP convention:

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